3,277 related texts · 11 related myths · Page 1 of 69
There is nothing more beloved than the Mincha prayer. The afternoon offering, the one between the morning and the evening, is the prayer that comes at the moment when the day is st...
The Hebrew Bible promises: "A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will God establish for you" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Targum Onkelos translates this verse without alte...
When the tribal chieftains of Israel brought their gifts to the newly raised Tabernacle, they came with an oddly specific number of things. Six covered wagons. Twelve oxen. One wag...
“On his royal throne” – Rabbi Kohen (a priest) in the name of Rabbi Azarya: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto (Sovereignty)],” malkhuto is written [without the vav]. He sought t...
Balaam is often remembered as the sorcerer hired to curse the Israelites, and Jannes and Jambres as the magicians who opposed Moses in Pharaoh’s court, but they had lives, families...
The Torah says the Levites have no land inheritance. Targum Jonathan goes further, specifying exactly what they receive instead, twenty-four gifts of the priesthood. That number do...
When God looks down at a wicked generation, the rabbis said, He searches for one righteous person to carry the weight of atonement for all the rest. This is the reading Aggadat Ber...
The Rabbis teach that King Solomon, for all his wisdom, committed three transgressions of kingship that the Torah had warned against. He multiplied horses. He multiplied wives. He ...
What is meant by 'a wicked bond'? Shebna taught to twelve myriads, while Hezekiah taught to eleven myriads. When Sennacherib came and besieged Jerusalem, Shebna wrote on an arrowhe...
The Temple Scroll does something no other Dead Sea Scroll attempts, it rewrites biblical law. And one of its most striking revisions concerns the Israelite king. (Deuteronomy 17:14...
The sages defended Rav Saphra for his devotion to Oral Torah over Scripture, and in doing so they staked out one of Judaism's most startling claims. Tradition, they argued, is not ...
The idea is that God wouldn't want anyone to be able to say, "Hey, you kept yourself hidden from us!" later on. So, what did God do? According to some interpretations, God gave eve...
The Philistines captured the Ark of God and dragged it into the temple of their idol Dagon at Ashdod. They set it beside their god like a trophy. But the next morning, they found D...
Jewish mysticism, especially in texts like Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah (Wisdom), delves deep into these mysteries, seeking to understand the very blueprint of creation. After laying ou...
The verse promises that the leader will "judge the poor with righteousness and save the children of the needy." A powerful image. It's not just about dispensing justice, but about ...
It turns out, that feeling is deeply intertwined with our understanding of God's reign and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. how praise, singing, and the very act of rebuilding are inte...
Sifrei Devarim turns to Moses and the King of Sanhedrin. Sifrei Devarim, in section 41, opens our minds to this very idea, taking us on a fascinating chain of transmission. It all ...
The Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, dives right into this question. It's in chapter 13, verse 2, where it says, "If there arise in your midst a prophet..." But it doesn’t just stop t...
It wasn't just about popularity, that's for sure. The Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, gives us some fascinating insights, and the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal interpretation...
It all comes down to the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court. The Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) commentary on the Song of Songs, offers ...
It seems straightforward, but like peering into the deepest ocean, the deeper we go, the more layers of meaning we find. The Zohar, in (Genesis 1:1), dives right into this mystery....
Gideon, one of the Judges of Israel, certainly did. The story goes that an angel appeared to Gideon, tasking him with a monumental mission: delivering Israel from the oppression of...
It speaks of prophets, referred to as "masters of the feet" (a fascinating image, isn't it?), urgently seeking entry. These prophets are at the gate, knocking, pleading with Sagron...
Despite the Torah's explicit prohibition against divination (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), medieval Jews practiced it extensively. And spent centuries debating exactly where the line fell...
The Torah tells us, "When you besiege a city…you shall not destroy its trees" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Seems Protect the environment, even in wartime. Then we read, "Assail the Midiani...
Each prophet saw God differently. Amos saw Him standing, "I saw the Lord standing beside the altar" (Amos 9:1). Isaiah saw Him sitting, "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high an...
"I will assemble Jacob, all of you; I will bring together the remnant of Israel" (Micah 2:12). The end of Aggadat Bereshit's prophetic arc arrives here: not the death of Jacob, not...
The Sifrei Devarim, a legal midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy, touches on some specific examples of legal “disputes” that might arise. It mentions the ordeal of the sotah, the wom...
The ancient legal system and uncover the minimum number of wise heads needed for a fair trial. Not just any Sanhedrin. Why twenty-three? What’s so special about that number? The Ya...
It couldn't have been easy. Turns out, the Torah already had a plan for that! This week, Specifically, But the Rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, saw much more within these words. T...
It all comes down to a fascinating system of appointments, a hierarchy of leadership that, according to our sages, can all be found hinted at in the book of Deuteronomy (Devarim). ...
Our focus is on the verse in Deuteronomy (19:15) that states, "By word of two witnesses, or by word of three witnesses, shall a thing be established." But what exactly does "establ...
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish did, and what he saw was..fire. I know, it sounds intense. But listen to how he described it. The Torah that God gave us, he said, its parchment was white f...
Ever read the Song of Songs and thought, "Wow, that's... descriptive?" It’s poetry, of course, but sometimes those ancient metaphors leave you scratching your head. Take (Song of S...
The ancient rabbis certainly thought so when reflecting on the history of Israel. Vayikra Rabbah, a midrash – a collection of rabbinic teachings – on the Book of Leviticus, explore...
(Deut. 16:18:) “[You shall appoint] judges and law officers.” This text is related (to Ps. 147:19), “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.” “Hi...
(Deut. 16:18:) “[You shall appoint] judges and law officers,” “judges” are magistrates, and “law officers” are administrators that supervise the people.11Cf. Sifre to Deut. 16:18 (...
Ben Sira celebrates those judges of old, "each man by his name, every one who didn't self-glorify; and didn't turn away from following God." Can you imagine a world where leaders a...
When Darius settled onto the throne of Babylon, his first act was not a military campaign or a political purge. He sent for Daniel. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th...
Sometimes, out of that chaos, heroes rise. We've been talking about Deborah, one of the great judges and prophets of Israel. Can you It's incredible. Remember that Deborah, along w...
God made a striking declaration to the Israelites at Sinai: "You have seen what I did to Egypt" (Exodus 19:4). The Mekhilta emphasizes that God was not asking the people to accept ...
Jewish tradition certainly has words for those times. In fact, the Yalkut Shimoni, a vast and fascinating collection of rabbinic teachings and interpretations, points directly to s...
An unsolved murder in the field becomes a public crisis, and Sifrei Devarim makes the nearest city answer for it. Specifically, It grapples with the strange ritual of the eglah aru...
The levirate marriage ceremony in (Deuteronomy 25) is already dramatic in the Torah. Targum Jonathan turns it into theater. The brother-in-law's refusal must happen "before five of...
"From the kingship of the hypocritical man from the snares of the people" (Job 34:30) Abba Gurion, from Sidon, said five things in the name of Rabban Gamliel: (1) When lying judges...
The book of Kings rarely spares a good word for King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel (reigned c. 874 to 853 BCE). He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, married Jezebel, and ...
Gaster's Exempla (1924), No. 255, remembers a forgotten act of judicial courage. King Yannai, the Hasmonean monarch, had a servant who had committed murder. Jewish law is uncomprom...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the triage principle Jethro proposed: "Let them judge the people at all times, and every great matter bring to thee, but every little thing let...
